The Spirit Renews

Do you have a particular phrase that really gets on your nerves? A lot of people do. I'll confess, the term that really makes me cringe.

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Is it so misleading? Because to refer to a born-again Christian suggests that there's such a thing as a Christian that's not born again.

As though there's some particular type of category of Christian that is born again, but most normal Christians aren't.

Jesus is quite clear. He doesn't just call us to believe in God.

To take on a new world view, all those things.

When you follow Jesus, something supernatural happens. The Holy Spirit of God comes to dwell, not simply with you, but in you.

The author of the universe takes up residence in your soul.

You enter into an altogether different, new spiritual realm.

That gives you a completely different relationship with God.

Not somebody that you just believe in, but somebody that you know.

You are given a new identity.

You are in Christ Jesus.

You're a child of God.

As Wesley put it.

I exchanged the faith of a servant for that of a son.

It might happen suddenly.

It might happen gradually.

Theologian Tom Wright said it's a bit like, imagine waking up.

Sometimes you wake up really, really suddenly.

The alarm goes on. Bang.

One moment you're asleep.

One moment you're awake.

But sometimes we might wake up much more gradually, much more slowly.

To the extent that you're not entirely sure exactly when it was that you stopped being asleep and started being awake.

But the point is, there is such a thing as being asleep and there's such a thing as being awake and there's all the difference between those two states.

God wants us to wake up.

God wants us not just to believe something in our heads, but to know him in the depths of our souls.

God wants us to be asleep and there's all the rest of our souls.

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Not the removal of your mind.

The renewal of your mind.

I've got a jar here.

Apparently, if you catch a flea...

Imagine if you catch a flea and you put it in the jar.

it could easily jump I don't know how many times the height of the jar easily right out of it

but if you can get it in there and get the lid on in time it will still think it can jump out of it

but it won't it doesn't get an escape it gets an awful headache but it will keep on jumping up and

down up and down up and down up and down up and down continually banging against that surface

that's keeping its in that will continue and I don't know how long exactly it takes but it

eventually it realizes it's not a good idea to try and jump out of it because it hurts

so instead it will continue to jump but it will jump just a fraction of a distance shy of the surface

of the lid now I've never tested this but I'm told that if you do that and then you remove the lid

the flea will continue to jump but never out of the jar why because it's become trained and

conditioned to accept its limitations

now hold that image and reverse it

you see when the Holy Spirit renews us it's not like the lid being put on no that that's the life

without the Spirit when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and within us and renews us when we are born again

when we are transformed by the renewal of the mind it's like that lid is lifted

we're free

be transformed

be transformed

says Paul

by the renewal

of your mind

you see the problem is we tend to limit God to the size of our circumstances

and we get trapped by that

to the size of our circumstances

to the size of our circumstances

a low view of God is the cause of a thousand lesser evils

but a high view of God is the solution to ten thousand problems

when the Spirit renews

everything changes

let's just unpack this in a little bit more

detail and think of

you know as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13

that he talks about you know faith hope and love

let's just think about how

the Spirit

renews those three things in us

firstly we've got faith

everyone has faith

again another phrase that I don't like

those with of all faiths and none

it's nonsense because it suggests that there's somebody walking around somewhere out there

who hasn't got any faith

nonsense

everybody has faith

might not realise it

it might not be faith in God

but it'd be faith in something

one of the biggest deceptions is that

that somehow

you know you don't have faith if you

don't believe in God

it's nonsense

it takes far more faith to be an atheist than it does to become

to be a Christian I think in some ways

so

if it's not God that we believe in

if it's not God that we trust in

if it's not God that we have faith in

you can guarantee that faith will be placed somewhere

because it is part of our being

as a human

to have faith

if you think about it

life

every day requires faith

we put our faith in all sorts of things

most of the time we're not even aware that we're doing it

but we do

faith runs right through the fabric of life

right through existence

when the Holy Spirit renews

it takes that faith which is part of our humanity

humanity

and transforms it into something

that is supernatural

transforms it into

that faith that is in God

to a new state of being

it's not often I'll

you'll find me quoting Wesley twice in

on the same day

but I just happened to come across this story this last week

and I thought it's worth sharing

and apparently

he was

outside one day

and met a man who was

really really anxious

riddled with fear

and apparently Wesley pointed at a cow

grazing in the field

that was by a wall

and the cow just happened to be looking over the wall

and apparently John Wesley said to this man

you see that cow over there

is it trying to look through the wall

or is it looking over it

he said well

it's looking over the top of the wall

you can't

see through a wall

cows can't see through walls

we can't see through walls

apparently John Wesley said

that's what you need to do with your fear

stop staring at that wall of fear

stop trying to look through it

you need to look over it

you need that

bigger picture

look over the wall

look over the fear

and put your faith in God

the Holy Spirit

renews

our faith

into something

radically different

the Holy Spirit

also renews our hope

again we put hope

in all sorts of things

every day

of our lives

but hope actually enables us

real hope enables us

to endure

in fact

it

describes in 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

endurance inspired by hope

years ago

there was

an experiment

in a laboratory

where psychologists

were trying to explore

what hope is

how it functions

how it operates

and they took a group

of rats

and they put the rats

into a tub of water

and timed how long

it took them to drown

then they took a second

batch of rats

and then they

they put them

in exactly the same conditions

in the water

timed them until

they were just about

to drown again

it was almost exactly

the same length

of time

but a few seconds

short of their drowning

they scooped them

out of the water

and let them recover

put them back

in the water

did the same thing

again

waited till they were

about to drown

and then scooped

them out

and as they repeated

this process

each time

they saw

that the rats

could actually survive

a little bit longer

a little bit longer

a little bit longer

until it was

a long time longer

what was the difference

between the first

group of rats

and the second

the second

discovered hope

and so they could

endure

when the Holy Spirit

comes upon us

and renews our minds

we can endure

because we know

that hand of salvation

is there

but Paul talks about

faith

hope

and love

again

something fundamental

to what it is

to be human

we love

but we love

in all sorts

of different ways

but

the Bible tells us

that God is love

not God has love

but God is love

but God is love

that's what we read

in 1 John 4 16

not just that God

is the source of love

although he is

not just that he has love

but he is

not just that he gives us love

but he is

but God is love

now

the danger is

and this is something

that often we come across

is that people will reverse that

and say well that

love is God

God is not to be defined

by what we think

love is

rather if you want to know

what love is

you find it in God

that's what

agape love

selfless

giving love

is defined

in God himself

but in our human experience

when we

encounter

the reality

of that unconditional love

and it just blows us away

that's that glimpse

of that eternal God

and

notice that

that Paul says

there's faith

there's hope

and there's love

but the greatest of these

is love

why should it be the greatest

well

faith and hope

will eventually

when we encounter God

in eternity

be required no more

in eternity

you won't need faith

in eternity

you won't need

to hope

because in eternity

all there will be

is love

as we have that

eternal

presence of God

with no more suffering

and no more pain

no more having to trust

no more having to have faith

no more need to have hope

because God is there

and everything will be perfect

and it's that

renewal

that is the most

foundational thing

that when the Holy Spirit

comes upon us

he renews us

in love

you know

when we're obnoxious

as Christians

and boy

we can be

that's not the Holy Spirit

at work in us

and that's why

it's a lifelong process

right through our time

yes

on earth

yes we can

be confident

that we have been set free

we have been saved

for all eternity

but the Holy Spirit's

work for us

it never stops

it keeps

needing to work in us

to

to bring more love

into our lives

to sweep out

all that is not

of God

all that is not loving

and that's what we need

over

and over

and over

again

my prayer is

that's precisely

what will happen

not just right now

but each and every day

you know this summer

we had a heat wave

and you probably noticed

that a lot of the grass

went very very brown

and dry

I remember out

walking down by the

salt

the salt house

and fields

and looking at that

thinking

that looks like

it's never going to

grow back

then

suddenly

it wasn't so dry

was it

walking down there

early morning

this week

and they were

mowing

the lawn

that was very

very green

and very long

it only takes

just a few days

of rain

and it comes

right back again

and I hold that

as an image

before all of us

an image of what

God longs to do

for each of us

perhaps it may well

be that you've been

a follower of Jesus

for a long long time

and you feel dry

God's Holy Spirit

is there to renew

that love

along with that faith

and that hope in you

maybe you're listening

to this

maybe you're listening

to this online

and you're thinking

to myself

actually

actually I'm not sure

that I do know

what that is

to be born again

but I so much

want that to happen

or simply ask God

I'm going to leave

in a prayer right now

we're going to do

just that

I'm going to ask

the same prayer

for each and every

one of us

that wherever we're at

whether we have

been renewed recently

or whether we sense

actually we never

have been

let's just ask God

to do that

let's do that now

let's pray

Lord thank you

that your desire

is to give us life

life that is

so much richer

and brighter

and bigger

and fuller

and wider

and deeper

and greater

than we've ever

experienced

and can possibly imagine

Lord that's what's

in store for us

in eternity

but right now

we can begin

to get a taste

of it

thank you

Lord that

you came to us

in Jesus

that you've saved us

you've set us free

but you don't

leave us alone

but you pour out

your spirit

that we might be

renewed

Lord would you

renew our minds

would you renew us

in our faith

in our hope

and in our love

Lord it may be

that perhaps

we've never

asked you

to do that before

Lord for those of us

right now

that have never

given our lives

to you

here's a prayer

Lord Jesus

thank you

that you died

for me

thank you

that you are alive

I give my life

to you now

thank you

that I am

your child

thank you

that I may know

that I have been

saved for all eternity

fill me with your

Holy Spirit

that I may follow you

as your servant

Amen

and for those of us

who have been

following Jesus

for some time

but just long

for that sense

of refresh

and renewal

that the brown grass

may become

lush and green

here's a prayer

Lord in our lives

we can become weary

we can become dry

but thank you

that in your words

you tell us

not just to be filled

but to go on

being filled

to be renewed

Holy Spirit

would you renew us

now

and in the time

to come

help us tomorrow

and the next day

and each day

help us to be open

to your renewal

whatever shape

that looks like

Holy Spirit

come and fill us

and renew us

in Jesus name

Amen

Amen